The activist could spend up to two years in jail for her role in countrywide demonstrations in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny
Last weekend (January 23), Pussy Riot member and activist Masha Alekhina was arrested alongside fellow activists Lusya Stein and Victoria Narakhsa, during Russia’s massive, nationwide protests criticising President Vladimir Putin. Now, Alekhina faces up to two years in jail for “violation of sanitary and epidemiological rules”.
“Pussy Riot's Masha Alekhina is still detained,” the punk collective writes on Twitter. “She faces criminal charges and two years in jail for encouraging people to go to protests on social networks. This is a face of Putin’s Russia. They clearly have nothing else to do, but to put Pussy Riot in jail over and over again.”
Alekhina was among more than 3,000 people detained at last Saturday’s demonstration in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. One of Putin’s most prominent critics, Navalny was arrested on his return to Russia from Berlin, where he was being treated for a near-fatal poisoning he alleges was carried out by the Russian government.
According to the online Russian newspaper Meduza, security forces also searched Alekhina’s home, along with that of Navalny’s wife, Yulia (who was also detained at the protests) and several of his allies. Mediazona – the independent media company founded by Pussy Riot and Russian journalists in 2014 – reports that they are now being kept under house arrest, ahead of Sunday’s planned protests.
Pussy Riot has also shared news that Mediazona editor-in-chief Sergey Smirnov has been arrested while out walking with his young son, accused of “inciting”.
Pussy Riot's Masha Alekhina is still detained, she faces criminal charges and 2 years in jail for encouraging people to go to protests on social networks.
— 𝖕𝖚𝖘𝖘𝖞 𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖙 (@pussyrrriot) January 29, 2021
THIS IS A FACE OF PUTIN'S RUSSIA. they clearly have nothing else to do, but to put Pussy Riot in jail over and over again. pic.twitter.com/yJAWT7REbb
In December 2020, Alekhina was also involved in a protest against police brutality that saw Pussy Riot’s Rita Flores sentenced to 20 days in jail. In October, she was arrested for her involvement in the group’s rainbow flag protest, which saw them plant Pride flags outside government buildings to highlight the country’s treatment of LGBTQ+ people.
In 2012, Alekhina was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment alongside Nadya Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich, for “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”, which inspired her to become an advocate for prisoner’s rights. Back in 2017, she spoke to Dazed about life in a Russian penal colony.
Ahead of the recent pro-Navalny protests, Pussy Riot’s Tolokonnikova also published a video detailing what to do if you’re detained at a Russian protest.